Safety device



F. 1 BOHN. SAFETY DEVICE. APPucATmN man MAR. 2s, 192|.

Patente Nov; 8,

Mwmm

Parana SAFETY DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov.

Application filed March 2S, 1921. Serial No. 58d/l'.

To all whom t man; concern Be it known that I, FRANK J. BoHN, a citizen of the United States, residing atBaltimore, in the State of Maryland, have invented certain new and4 useful improve-l ments in Safety Devices, of which the fol lowing is a specification.

This invention relates to safety devices for trolley cars, and it comprises a guard or railing adapted to be arranged around the fare boxen the platform of the car, and secured to the base Which Supports the fare box and forms the guide for the door operating lever. ln the types of trolley cars now in general use, the conductor is stationed inside of the car adjacent the edge of the platform. The car is provided With doors which are closed when running, and which are operated by suitable levers ein tending from the side of the car to the enter and connected to an operating lever arranged adjacent the platform and positioned within a vertical post. Since the introduction of the use of fare boxes in which the passenger is supposed to place his fare as he enters the car, suitable supporting brackets have beenattached to this vvertical guide post and the fare box secured thereto.

When the passenger entersthe car, and the car starts, there is a. tendency to throw the passenger rearwardly ofi1 his balance if he does not support himself in some manner. In the body of the car, it is customary to provide handgrips on the seats and straps above the heads of the passengers, but on the platform, there is nothing to grasp except the fare box and the guide post for the operatingl lever. As the fare box is generally provided-'With a. reduced upper portion forming an irregular surface, it is difficult to grasp, and the guide post is generally out of reach of the passenger, due to the position of the fare box.

In the present invention, I provide a handgrip or supporting device comprising a substantially semi-circular guard or railing adapted to extend around the fare box and arranged at any suitable height. The two ends of the railing are provided With offset portions connected thereto by means of elbows or other suitable fittings, and these offset portions carry sleeves which are adapted to surround rods forming a part of the bracket supporting the fare box. The sleeves and the odset ends are made in two f split longitudinally, to their.

to be opened to engage the rods. rhe hinged portion of the oi'lset arin is provided with threads and a nut is provided which is adapted to lock the sleeve in position on the rod.

In the accompanying draw' shown several embodiments of tion. In this showing,

Figure l is plan view of a portion of the guide rod and fare box, showing the invention applied,

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view 2-2 of Fig. l, g

Fig. 3 is a central horizontal sectional view through one end of the attachment,

I Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view on line 44 of F ig. 3, and,

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of another form of the invention.

Referring to the drawings, the reference numeral l designates generally the guide rod or sleeve arranged at the rear of the car adjacent the platform and centrally iv l spect to the sides of the ca k shaft 2 extends through this guide rod, operating shaft and *l Y ing at a suitable hei'Y t for the convenience of the operator or conductor in the usual manner. handle 3 is detach-abi;y arranged on the top of the ope ting shaft 'to permit operation of the door The upper end of the guide rod is surrounded a substan tially oval shaped guide ring 4 forming a guide for the operator in opening and closing the door. The guide ring is secured to the guide rod or sleeve by means of arms 5 which are attached to the guide ring, and the guide sleeve respectively1 in any suitable Inanner, or made integral therewith, A fare box 6 is supported ou the guide rod, the fare box being provided with a s in face, adapted to receive a lug or projection l arranged on the guide rod. A pair of arms 2 are secured to the guide ring, the arms extending downwardly in a vertical plane for a short distance and then being inclined inwardly, as at 8', and secured, to the guide rod. The attachment torniing'the subject mattei' of the present invention com-l prises a substantially semi-circular guard or railing 8, arranged to surround the fare box (see Fig. 2), and disposed at any suitable elevation. The ends of the r1' 'n c. o`rovided With elbows 9 or other sui whereby the oiist to., ln the torni.: o

on line lOG . arms are arranged in a horizontal plane. A.

sleeve 11 is arranged on the end ot the ofiset arm and isadapted to surround the rod 2 to secure the guard in position. As shown, the sleeve is provided with a hinged section 12, carrying a substantially semi-cylindrical extension 13, iorminga part of theoifset arm. rlhis extension is provided with a recess for the reception of a, lug 14, projecting from the semi-cylindrical portion 15, which carries the movable half ot' the sleeve. A rod or pin 16 is passed through the extension 13, and the lug 111, whereby the section 12 ot' the sleeve is hinged and is adapted to he opened to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings for attachment to the rod 2. The semi-cylindrical portions 13 and 15 of the oii'set arm are provided with threads for the reception oi' a threaded locking sleeve 1T. 1t will be apparent vthat when the sleeve is in the position shown in the drawings, the movable section 12 of the sleeve will be maintained in closed position around the rod 2.- Suitable fastening means may be employed, if desired, to preventv vertical displacement of the sleeves 11.

Attention is called to the fact that the threaded portion oi the odset arm is tapered. invvardly` which provides a greater.' clearance for the hinged section of the sleeve when in open position, and also enables the locking ring; 1i to be tightly clamped thereon.

ln the forni oi the invention shown Fig. 5 ot' the drawings, the construction oi" the guard or ailing is the saine, but the elbows 9 are turned a quarter revolution to arrange the ofi'set ends in a vertical plane. rlfhe device is arranged in4 such posit-ion where 'the sleeves l1 are adapted to engage al horizontal rod 18.

It will be apparent that forms a handg'rip or railing which may the attachment be grasped by a passenger when'boarding the car to prevent the passenger -from being thrown oli' his balance when the car first starts. The device may be readily attached and detached, permitt-inf;r its use on a car which is reversed at the end of the route and the conductor or faire collector stationed at the opposite end of the car. To remove the attachment, it is merely necessary to move the locking nut i7 to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3 of the drawings1 and release the hinged section 12 of the sleeve. The device 'may then be carried to the other end of the car as the fare box is carried and attached.

llt is to be understood that the forms of the i., vention herewith shown and described isolani? are to be'taken as preferred4 examples of the saine, and that various changes in the shape, size, and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described the invention, 1 claim:

1. -An attachment for trolley cars coinprising a substantially semi-circular guard or railing, the ends of said railing being offset, and sleeves carried by each ot said offset ends whereby said guard or railing may be secured to a support.

2. An attachment for trolley cars cornprising a substantially semi-circular guard or railing, the ends of said railing being oilset, a split sleeve carried by each of said oilset ends, and means for securing said sleeve to a support.

3. An attachment for trolley cars coniprising a substantially semi-circular guard or railing, the ends of said railing being offset, said offset ends being split longitudinally, the split portions being hinged to each other, a sleeve comprising a pair ofsections, one of which is secured to each section of said split ends, said splitvv ends being provided with threads, and a locking nut mounted on said ofi'set portions adapted to engage said threads to maintain said sleeves .in closed position.

i. An attachment for street cars coinprisnf.,v a substantially semi-circular guard or railing, the ends of said railing being oiiset, the ends of each ot' said offset portions being,T cut away to forni a substantially semi-cylindrical portion, a lugcarried by said semi-cylindrical portion, a hinged section :mounted adjacent said out away portion adapted to cooperate therewith to form a substantially cylindrical end, said end being tapered and provided with external threadsfsaid hinged section vbeing hingedly mountedton said lug, a sleeve comprising a. pair ot' sections secured to the end of said offset armi and to said hinged section, and a threaded sleeve'arranged on said odset portion to maintain-the sleeve in closed position.

5. A detachable guard or railing for trolley cars to-be secured to a support circularin crosssection and forminga normal part of a trolley' car, said guard comprising a semicircnlar body portion, said body portion being provided with oilset ends and fastening members carried by saidol-set ends adapted to embrace said support.

1n testimony whereof allix my signature.

FRANK J. BOH'N.

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